Flowers

I just wanted to post these pictures of the flowers my mom got me for my birthday. They're gorgeous, and it's been two weeks now, and the only stuff I've had to take out were the roses; the rest of it is going strong!

Disney World: Epcot: Part 1

Ok, so I finally decided to upload pictures. I know, I know, I've been promising it forever. Anyway, this is of our Disney World trip in mid-January to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. It was me, Dan, my mom, Tracy, Kirsti (13), Rori (almost 6; she turned 6 at the end of January), my grandma, my aunt Chris, Katrina and Matthew.

We spent a lot of time at Epcot, which is one of our favorite parks, so here are some snapshots from then:


Rori meeting the "other" Aurora ;)


Waiting for the bus stop outside our resort, Coronado Springs; it was actually quite cold for Florida, as you can tell from the sweatshirts and jackets. But I'll take mid-50s and sun over -20 degrees, which it was in Madison!





Chinese acrobats


Rori meeting her favorite princess, Mulan


After lunch one day, Rori got her face painted, and she wanted something Asian since she was going to meet Mulan.


Germany, where we ate lunch. I was surprised that I, such a picky eater, liked their food.


During lunch, we saw this German band play. They were quite good; it reminded me of going to supper clubs with my grandparents in Wisconsin.


Waiting for the bus... we just thought this vending machine looked cool since it was "Aztec"-ish.



There were only two beds in our room (since Tracy and the girls decided to come at the last minute, which we are SO glad they did!) so Kirsti and Rori slept in sleeping bags on the floor. Here Rori is on our first night, getting ready of sleep for the next day!

An.... interesting experience

So, last night Dan and I decided to venture out of our typical routine and try a new restaurant. We had a coupon for The Beach House Restaurant in McFarland, and the description sounded really cool; right on the lake, serving lots of steak and seafood. So we drive out to McFarland (about 15 minutes from Madison) and things started pretty much going downhill from the start.

First, I forgot you can smoke in restaurants in McFarland. UGH. I am the hugest proponent of smoking bans, seriously. I LOVE Madison (and the whole state of Utah!) since you cannot smoke in public. So when I venture outside of Madison's walls, I am quickly reminded that not everyone has the same standards. I think my hair still smells like cigarette smoke.

Then, no one paid attention to us. There wasn't a hostess stand or anything, and three or four employees walked by us without asking, "Can we help you?" We almost left, but we were hungry and the food was supposed to be really good there, so we decided to stick it out. I finally found someone with a clipboard and asked her, "Do we need to put our name in, or....?" She wasn't very friendly (no "Oh, sure!" or "Welcome!") but at least she got us seated right away.

Third, our server was really friendly, but SO slow. She would disappear for like 15 minutes, and then just take care of all her tables in one fell swoop. Dan and I were like, what is she doing? The restaurant is not that big, so she must have been hanging out in the back or something.

Fourth, the people behind us were SO drunk and SO obnoxious. I think they were already smashed when they got there, and the waitress kept the drinks flowing! (Anyone who knows me knows I'm not being sanctimonious or self-righteous; I enjoy a good drink as much as anyone, but there is such a thing as taking it too far!) The table consisted of two couples in their 50s (probably; maybe early 60s?) and the people right behind us were practically having sex at their table. I'm not even kidding; my back was to them, and all of a sudden I heard this sucking sound right in my ear, so I turned around. Holy hell! They were sucking face not one foot from me. I just looked at Dan, and he's like, "Jeez, you'd think they'd get a room." He didn't mean to say it loudly, but he did, and they kind of looked at us, but whatever.

That wasn't the worst of it. THEN they started talking about their sex life, and being really graphic about it!

Dan and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or turn around and tell them to shut the hell up. We chose the first option (although he said that if we had kids, he would have told them to cool it. I do not need my [hypothetical at this point] children hearing stuff like that).

So it was an interesting experience. Overall, the food was good (I had the coconut shrimp, and Dan had the fish fry), and it was some of the best seafood I'd ever had. I don't know if we'll go back there, though, because of the service (and especially if those drunk, obnoxious people are regulars there, which it seemed like they were, because they were on a first-name basis with everyone!) Oh, and the straw that broke the camel's back was that we didn't notice on the coupon that it said, "Not valid on Fridays." *Sigh* But yeah, like I said.... it was an interesting night.

Sometimes I get too ahead of myself

So, yesterday was Dan's payday. I was curious to find out how much his check would be, since mine had increased by about $30 thanks to Obama's plan to give Americans a bit of a tax break (thank you, Mr. President). Since Dan makes more than I do, I was thinking that his would be slightly bigger; maybe a $50 increase or so. Imagine my surprise when I logged on to our bank account (I knew he was depositing his check at lunch) and it was a whopping $160 more than it normally was! Holy cow! I was practically doing cartwheels in my office. I have a spreadsheet where I budget each paycheck so I can see where we are in terms of paying off debt, etc. (yes, I am a numbers nerd), so I altered my calculations to include this extra $320/month. I was so excited; it seemed like we were going to be able to pay off our debt in no time at all!

So, later that evening, Dan and I were watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart after dinner, and Jon mentioned something about President Obama. That triggered my memory, and I said to Dan, "Can you believe how much bigger your check is due to that tax break from Obama? It's amazing!" He said, "Yeah, but I also got that reimbursement check for mileage from when I had to go to Milwaukee, and I deposited that too."

Oh.

Crap, that's probably where all that extra $$ came from. Did I dare ask how much that mileage reimbursement check was? It turns out it was $125, which means that his check has only increased by about $35. Don't get me wrong; I'm still grateful, but I am just kicking myself for getting so ahead of myself and thinking that his take-home pay could actually increase by that much. It certainly got my hopes up, that's for sure!

So this morning I will spend time re-doing my budget spreadsheet back to its normal level. :( I certainly learned my lesson; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

I Love You, Man

Dan and I went and saw that on Friday night, and it was pretty funny. Not the most hilarious movie ever, but that's ok. It was still fun to get out for dinner and a movie (we went to Pizzeria Uno for dinner).

Saturday night, we went to The Orpheum Theater, which has a restaurant in the lobby. (Nancy, if you're reading this, we went there last time you were in town). The theater is gorgeous; very old and ornate. It was probably built in the 20s or so, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we went to celebrate Tracy's mother-in-law's birthday (I know, that seems weird that we're hanging out with my aunt's mother-in-law, but they're like family to us. Roberta--the mother-in-law--and Greg, Tracy's brother-in-law, actually came to our wedding.) Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and the food was amazing. I have lots of pictures (mainly of Rori acting silly) that I will post when I get home. I know, I always say that, but this time I mean it!

Sometimes being responsible is no fun

So, we got our tax refund last night (a whole week ahead of time!) and as much as I would love to buy a new big-screen TV, or go on a vacation for our anniversary, or a multitude of other things..... we're putting it towards debt. I know it's the responsible thing to do, but it's no fun. I just have to tell myself that it's helping us towards our goal of me becoming a stay at home mom in 2-3 years, and it's wise to use this time of dual incomes to become debt free. That's what I logically think, anyway, but when you get a big refund like this, it's hard not to think of all the other exciting stuff we could be doing with it!

My Birthday Weekend

Birthdays that fall on the weekends are the best. On Friday (my actual birthday) I actually had a half-day off work, because we had a work outing where we had a potluck and then went bowling. I'm not the best bowler in the world (they actually gave out prizes to the best and worst bowlers, and I got a half day of vacation as my prize. And I'll give you a hint; I wasn't the best bowler, which leaves only one option.) I actually bowled a 115 my first game--quite possibly my highest score ever--but my second game is what earned me the title of worst bowler (66). Oh well, anything's better than being at work on your birthday!

Then that night, Dan took me to the Blue Marlin. It was SO good, and I love the atmosphere. It's a very quaint restaurant right off the square, and there's probably only about 10 tables in there. I was slightly disappointed, though, because I was craving the lobster (they have the best), but they were out. I got the crab legs instead, which were still very good. After we got home, Dan gave me my presents, and I was very excited that he got me two pairs of pajama/yoga pants for lounging around the house in. The pants I usually wear to relax in are over 10 years old and have huge holes in them. So now I have something that I won't be ashamed to answer the door in ;)

On Saturday, we went biking, and it was a beautiful spring day. We had bought Dan a bike last weekend and figured this weekend was the perfect time to use it! That night, Tracy and the girls took us to Cloud 9 Grille for my birthday. It was so good; I had some of the best filet mignon I'd ever had, and the salmon that came with it was excellent. We really enjoyed our night out with them, and Rori proudly showed me how she wrapped some of my gifts. She actually did a good job, too!

Sunday we went out to my grandparents' house to play cards and have lunch with them. It's amazing how much they continue to improve after that horrible car accident last May. We brought our bikes along again (we have to take the tires off every time just to get it in the car, but oh well) so after we left their house we could just get on the Glacial Drumlin State Trail, which goes right through their city. We biked about 9 miles, and the countryside is so beautiful. It'll be even prettier once things start to get green again!

It's a good thing we spent a lot of time outdoors this weekend, because right now it's just pouring rain, and it's supposed to continue for the next couple of days. Ugh.